Loose-leaf binder.



PATENTED MAR. 21, 1905. J. P. GORDES. LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1902.

- ZSHEBTS-BHEET 1.

No. 785,155. PATENTED MAR. 21, .1905.

' J. F. GORDE'S'.

LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19,1902.

W/zemes Patented. March 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. CORDES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOOSE-LEAF BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,155, dated March21, 1905.

Application filed July 19, 1902. Serial No. 116.144.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. CORDES, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLoose-Leaf Binders; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to loose-leaf binders of that class in whichimpaling-posts secured on the binding-plate extend through perforationsin the sheets or leaves in the binder and are rigidly locked or engagedin a clampingplate. The object of the invention is to provide a cheap,simple, and very strong construction in which the impaling-posts arerigidly locked in engagement with the clamping-plates by simple andpositively-actuated means.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means on theimpaling-posts to prevent accidental removal or displacement of theclamping-plate therefrom when the lock is re leased.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and morefully pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is afiperspective view of a device embodyingmy invention.

Fig. 2 is'an elevation of the back of thebinder, showing the same partlyin section. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the locking means releasedfrom the impalingposts and the clamping-plate elevated. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section of the clam ping-plate, showing the locking means inplan. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the rotative cam-nut. Fig. 6 is afragmentary perspective view of the central and upper portion of theclampingplate. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the locking-bolts.Fig. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view of a slightly-modifiedconstruction. Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the same, taken in theline of the impalingposts, showing said posts in elevation.

As shown in said drawings, A indicates the lower or binding plateprovided with a forwardly extending lower cover a, hinged thereto.Impaling-posts B, which may be of any desired number, are rigidlysecured to the binding-plate and extend upwardly therefrom.

C indicates a clamping-plate apertured to receive the impaling-poststherethrough and provided with a forwardly-directed cover 0, hingedthereto and similar to the cover hinged tothebinding-plate.Saidbinding-platecomprises a central plate a, of metal or other suitablematerial, engaged between an upper and a lower plate a and 0 as shown inFig. 2, and in which are rigidly secured the nipples a in which thebinding-posts B have threaded engagement. The binding-plate thus formedis covered with fabric, leather, or other material a to afford a finish.The binding-posts B are of any desired length and are usually suppliedin sets of Various and graduated lengths to enable the capacity of thebinders to be varied. Said impaling-posts are screwthreaded on the lowerends to adapt the same for engagement in the nipples a whereby they arerigidly but removably secured in the plate. The upper endsof said postsare slotted to adapt the same to be engaged by a wrench or the like, andan axial screw-threaded aperture is provided in said ends. and a cap 6,having a diameter greater than the diameter of the posts, hasscrew-threaded engagement therewith.

The clamping-plate, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, comprises acovering-plate c and a baseplate 0, rigidly secured together by rivets 0forming a flattened case within which are oppositely-movable bolts C C,which are apertured to receive the impaling-posts extending upwardlythrough apertures in the clampingplate. laterally of the binder torigidly engage said posts and lock the same rigidly in theclamping-plate. Said bolts, as shown in Fig. 7, are provided withlongitudinal slotted apertures through which one or more of the rivets 0securing the cover-plate and the base-plate of the clampingplatestogether, extend and hold said Said locking-bolts act by movementlocking-bolts O O.

.nut D, the lower half of which is conical and complemental with theends of said lockingbolts. Said wedge or cam nut D is of a diametersufficient that when screwed inwardly the tapered sides of the nutengage the inclined ends of said locking-bolts and force the samelaterally of the binder and positively engage the impaling-posts againstthe clamping-plate, but when screwed outwardly release the bolts O O andpermit the clampingplate to be adjusted at any desired point on theimpaling-posts. As shown, the coveringplate 0 is provided with a centralaperture and an incurving circular flange cl and within which said nut Dis partly inclosed. A peripheral flange (Z is provided on said nut,which extends outwardly into proximity with the flange d and limits theoutward travel of the nut and also serves to conceal the ends of the Notches are provided on each side of said nut, as indicated in Figs. 5and 8, to permit the same to be engaged by a divided key, (indicated byD.) Obviously it is not essential that said locking-bolts be inclosedwithin the clamping-plate, and in the constructions illustrated in Figs.8 and 9 the locking-bolts O are shown secured on the upper side of theclamping-plate, which consists of a rigid plate of metal 0*, having theupwardly-turned screw-threaded shaft (Z secured centrally therein andwhich is covered by fabric 0" or other material to afford a finish. Thelocking-bolts G 0 similar to the locking-bolts O O, are secured outsideof the finish by means of headed screws or rivets c, which exend throughslotted apertures therein and engage in the clamping plate. The wedge orcam nut D similar to the nut D and engaged on the screw-shaft (Z isadapted in a like manner to engage the ends of the bolts O O forcing thesame laterally of the binder. A. casing D, shaped at its ends to engageover the lockingbolts, fits closely thereto, as shown in Fig. 8, and isrigidly engaged on the clamping-plate by screws or rivets c, whichextend therethrough and through slotted apertures in said lockingbolts.Said casing is circular and convex at its central part and tits oversaid wedge or cam nut and provides sufficient vertical adjustment of thenut to throw said bolts into wardly until the desired degree ofcompression at the rear margin of the leaves is secured. By means ofthe. key D the wedge or cam nut D or D is turned inwardly, the taperedor conical surface thereof engaging the inclined ends of thelocking-bolts and forcing the same laterally into locking engagementwith the impaling-posts, which are rigidly engaged against theclamping-plate. \Vhen it is desired to release the clampingplate fromthe impaling-posts, the wedge or cam nut is screwed outwardly, as shownin Figs. 3 and 5, and said plate is free to be lifted, leaves inserted,removed, or arranged, as desired. Obviously from the constructiondescribed the caps Z prevent the accidental removal of theclamping-plate from the impaling-posts when the locking-bolts arereleased,thus preventing the leaves from becoming scattered ordisarranged through accident. Should it ever, however, be necessary toremove the clamping-plate from the impalingposts, the same may readilybe done by removing the caps 7) from the ends of the impaling-posts, anda milled edge is provided on each cap to afford better engagement.Should it be desired to vary the capacity of the binder, the key D maybe engaged in the slot of the impaling-post and the same unscrewed fromthe binding-plate and longer or shorter impaling-posts inserted.

Obviously from the construction described any number of impaling-postsmay be secured on the binding-plate, and as many lockingbolts may beprovided on the clamping-plate as needed to lock said posts, and morethan one nut D or D may be employed, each acting to actuate one or morelocking-bolts into positive engagement with impaling-posts, and it maybe desirable in large binders to provide a plurality of such lockingdevices in connection with a greater number of impaling-posts thanherein shown. Obviously any desired materials may be used, and theimpaling-posts may be permanently or removably secured upon thebinding-plate, and many other details of construction may be variedwithout departing from the principles of my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. In a device of the class described,thecombination with a clamping-plate apertured to receive theimpaling-posts of a binder, of

locking-bolts slidably secured on the clamping-plate and havingapertures therein adapt ed to receive the impallng-posts, the inner endsof said bolts lying in close proximity with each other, a wedge memberacting to force said locking-bolts into positive engagement with theimpaling-posts, and means positively secured on the clamping-plate andIIO acting to limit the adjustment of the wedge member.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with aclamping-plate, apertured to receive the im paling-posts of a binder, ofa central threaded shaft thereon, locking-bolts slidably secured on theclamping-plate and each apertured to receive one of the im paling-posts,the inner ends of said bolts lying in close proximity with each other oneach side the threaded shaft, a rotative wedge member comprising aconical nut engaging on the threaded shaft between the ends of thelocking-bolts and forcing the same into locking engagement with theimpaling-posts and a casing rigidly engaged on the plate and adapted tocover the joint between the inner ends of said bolts and limit theoutward movement of said wedge member.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with aclamping-plate apertured to receive impalingposts, of aperturedlockbolts slidably engaged thereon, a threaded shaft rigidly engaged onsaid plate and projecting between said bolts, a wedge member rotativelyengaged on said shaft adapted to force said bolts outwardly and anapertured casing carried'onsaid plate above the wedge member and adaptedto hold said wedge member in place.

4. The combination with the impaling-posts of a binder, of aclamping-plate adapted to receive said impaling-posts therethrough,locking-bolts permanently but slidably secured on the clamping-plates, athreaded shaft engaged on the clamping-plate between the bolts, awedge-shaped nut on said shaft adapted to oppositely engage the ends ofsaid locking-bolts and acting to move said bolts oppositely intopositive engagement with the impaling-posts and a casing secured on theclamping-plate above said nut acting to limit the upward movementthereof. 7

5. The combination with a binding-plate of the class described, ofimpaling-posts detachably secured thereon, a clamping-plate adapted toreceive the impaling-posts therethrough having longitudinally-movablelocking-bolts secured thereon and held permanently in alinement, anupwardly-extending threaded shaft rigidly secured on said binding-plateand a rotary cam nut engaged on the shaft and adapted to be forcedtoward the clampingplate and acting to move said locKing-bolts intopositive engagement with the impalingposts, and an apertured casingpartly in closing said cam and limiting the outward movement thereof.

6. In a binder of the class described, the combination with abinding-plate, of a plurality of impaling-posts removably securedthereon, a clamping-plate apertured to receive the impaling-posts,locking-bolts slidably secured on the clamping-plate and adapted to lockthe impaling-posts in the clamping-plate, a screwshaft between theadjacent ends of the lockingbolts, a wedge-shaped nut on saidscrew-shaft acting when screwed inwardly to force said bolts oppositelyinto positive engagement with the impaling-posts and when turnedoutwardly to release the bolts therefrom, an apertured casing rigidlysecured upon said clampingplate adapted to limit the upward movement ofsaid nut, and detachable means on the impaling-posts acting to preventthe clamping-plate falling therefrom when the lockingbolts are released.

7. In a temporary binder, the combination with a binding-plate andimpaling-posts secured thereon, of a clamping-plate apertured positiveengagement with the impaling-posts,

a peripheral flange on said nut and a coveringplate extending upwardlyand partly inclosing said nut and limiting the unscrewing of,

the same from the screw-shaft.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with abinding-plate and the impaling-posts thereon, of a clamping-plateapertured to receive the impaling-postaan' apertured casingrigidlysecured thereon, a plurality of bolts slidably secured inalinement on said clamping-plate, a plurality of studs extending throughslotted apertures in the bolts and permanently securing the same to theclamping-plate, an upwardly-extending threaded shaft secured on theclamping-plate between the adjacent ends of said bolts, and a conicalnut thereon movable inwardly toward the clamping-plate acting to forcesaid bolts into engagement with the impalingposts and limited-in itsoutward movement by said casing.

9. A clamping-plate of the class described apertured to receive aplurality of impalingposts therethrough and. comprising in combination alower plate, an upper coveringplate, locking-bolts slottedlongitudinally and concealed between said plates and rivetspasslocking-bolts outwardly, a peripheral flange In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto subon said nut above the wedge port-ion, said scribed myname in the presence of two sub- 10 covering-plate being provided with acentral scribing Witnesses. aperture through which the upper portion of1 5 said nut projects, and a raised inwardly-in- JOHN clined flangesurrounding said aperture and Witnesses: engaging over said flange onsaid nut and C. W. HILLS, limiting the outward movement thereof. ANNA B.HILLS.

